Anthony Bourdain travels to CNN for new series [Updated]

The chef/author/globe-trotting TV host has joined CNN and will host a new prime-time weekend series that will debut in early 2013. The show is part of an effort to broaden the news channel's weekend programming and set it apart from its bread-and-butter news coverage during the week.

The show doesn't sound too different from Bourdain's current Travel Channel series,
"No Reservations" (and will be produced by the same company, Zero Point Zero Productions): Bourdain will travel to spots around the world and take a look at local cultures through the lens of food and dining. As part of his contract, he'll also contribute to other CNN programming.

"I'm really looking forward to coming over to CNN. I think the world is going to get a whole lot bigger for me," Bourdain says in a statement. "I hope that old fans and new ones will be excited about what's coming down the road." On Twitter Tuesday (May 29) after the announcement was made,
Bourdain mentioned Libya and Congo as places he'd like to go.

The CNN show is set to air on Sunday nights, with repeats the following Saturday. A premiere date hasn't been set.

UPDATE: The Travel Channel says Bourdain just finished shooting a new season of "No Reservations" and has begun work on the second season of companion series "The Layover." New episodes of both shows will run through 2013, and "Bourdain programs will always have a home on Travel Channel."